


Deadline Blues and Confessions

by itaru



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-05-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:34:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24340645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itaru/pseuds/itaru
Summary: Tsuzuru has a deadline to meet. So does Kazunari. They decide to pull an all-nighter together, much to Tsuzuru's dismay.
Relationships: Minagi Tsuzuru/Miyoshi Kazunari
Comments: 3
Kudos: 95





	Deadline Blues and Confessions

**Author's Note:**

> ko-fi fic commission for @harleys_art on twitter. thank you for commissioning me! <3

7pm. Mankai dorms. A seemingly normal evening, Tsumugi was sat on the living room, helping both Tenma and Taichi with their homework. Itaru had already disappeared to his room, Banri and Citron following closely behind. Omi, Sakyo and Izumi stood in the kitchen, chatting and chuckling as Omi washed the dishes, the other two cleaning the messy countertops and shelves.

Tsuzuru’s favourite days were these, where nothing was out of the ordinary, where peace and chaos met into one, and created the atmosphere around the dorms that made him feel like… home.  
“Are you sure you don’t need my help?” Tsuzuru asked out loud from where he was still sat at the kitchen table, everyone else having left already.  
“Mhm,” Izumi smiled, “Since tomorrow is your deadline for the Autumn troupe’s next play, I don’t want you to worry about anything else.”  
Tsuzuru nodded, “Got it! Thanks–”  
“Tsuzuroon!” Kazunari suddenly jumped into his field of vision, “I heard your next script is about dragons! That sounds super cool!”  
“It’s not about dragons,” Tsuzuru sighed, watching as Kazunari took a seat next to him, “It’s about a man who _thinks_ there are dragons, kinda like Don Quijote.”  
Kazunari wowed out loud.  
“But anyway,” Tsuzuru could feel his brow twitching, “Who leaked my script to you?!”  
“Haha, no worries, Tsuzuroon! Your script is safe with me! Also, like, I’ve got the best idea ever!”  
“For my script?”  
“No, your script is already perfect enough as is, I bet!” Kazunari beamed, and Tsuzuru had to fight with all of his might for his face to not give away that Kazunari complimenting him made him a little too happy, “I have a deadline on a uni project so I thought we could have a sleepover tonight! Y’know, to finish our projects together!”  
Kazunari finished his sentence with a wink.

In truth, Tsuzuru was used to pulling all-nighters. Growing up in a household with seven younger and playful siblings often meant that Tsuzuru spent the day picking up after Tooru and Mitsuru, helping with the chores around the house along with Kaoru, explaining basic maths to Noboru, and trying to cook dinner without leaving a mess when all of them insisted on helping because “we want to be useful, too!” (They weren’t).  
Yes, the Minagi household was terribly busy at worst and wonderfully chaotic at best. This often led to Tsuzuru only having time to do homework once all the kids were asleep, often staying up until 3, 4, 5 am, knackered and body begging to lay down on the plumpness of his mattress.

Of course, sometimes he’d betray his body anyway, his heart racing as his fingers longed to write something, anything.  
Joining the Mankai company had given him a second home, however, it’s not like becoming a scriptwriter for a theatre troupe meant he’s had more time to write. In fact, at times it certainly feels like he has less.

Balancing uni with practice sessions, combine that with having to live in a home with more than twenty people (some reminiscent of his younger brothers and some who have no qualms with acting like slightly troublesome older brothers. Seriously, what’s that all about?) was no easy task. Not even for someone who grew up in a big family.

All in all, Tsuzuru still found himself regularly pulling all-nighters, sometimes to finish an assignment from uni, other times to meet a deadline for a script. Either way, he’d gotten used to long nights with only a few hot cups of coffee to get him through.  
What he wasn’t quite used to yet, though, was having company in such nights.  
At times, Masumi would stay up extra late to revise with him, but that’s Masumi. Kazunari… Well, that’s different.  
Kazunari was way-too-enthusiastic, loud, _too talkative_ , with no sense of personal space, surely he’d get way too close and Tsuzuru would get a sniff of his coconut shampoo and his pretty hands that created pure art and his lips that always curl up except when he’s focused on a project and his gaze is almost solemn and, _Ah._  
_Damn it_ , Tsuzuru sighed to himself, “There is no way we’ll get anything done if we stay up together.”

Tsuzuru was usually pretty good at sticking to his words, except when it came to Kazunari, he supposed.  
At quarter past 11pm, Kazunari barged into his room.  
“Tsuzuroon! I brought you some coffee!”  
“Thanks.” Tsuzuru smiled weakly, not strong enough to fight neither Kazunari nor his crush on him, instead opting to just watch as Kazunari closed the door gently behind him.  
“Say, Kazunari,” Tsuzuru pondered out loud as the other boy closed the gap between them, plopping down on the extra office chair next to him, “beneath that loud demeanour of yours, you sure are thoughtful.”  
“Woah!” Kazunari exclaimed, his mouth forming a small o, “Tsuzuroon, are you complimenting me?”  
Tsuzuru sighed, “It was just an observation, okay?!”  
He turned around to face his laptop again, but not before stealing a quick, incredibly discreet glance at Kazunari.  
There it was again.  
The thing that had plagued Tsuzuru for quite some time now. The reason why Tsuzuru was plagued by his own feelings for Kazunari which he for so long had tried to lock away in the depths of his heart.  
Kazunari’s not-so-subtle red cheeks.

He noticed this for the first time a cold January evening, when everyone had gathered to celebrate Azuma’s birthday. The cake, courtesy of one of Azuma’s clients, was creamy and fancy, adorned with strawberries and rich chocolate and whipped cream.  
While some of the guys munched on their food, some laughed, some got themselves a second slice, Kazunari had gone on and on about how “Instablam-abble” the cake was, and had taken several pictures of it.  
All that while Tsuzuru painstakingly aware of Kazunari’s huge smile and how it pierced his heart and worked as an aching reminder of his own big, fat crush on the boy.  
So when Kazunari had asked if anyone had wanted a picture with the cake, of course Tsuzuru (embarrassingly) hastily, said “Oh, uh… I do!”  
Kazunari had laughed, not in an ill-mannered way, _never_ in an ill-mannered way, but in the heart-warming heart-melting heart-breaking kind of way only Kazunari Miyoshi knew. “Say cheese, Tsuzuroon!”  
“Cheese…”  
Later that evening, Tsuzuru had found Kazunari in the hall, smiling fondly and secretly at his phone. And while Kazunari smiling at his phone wasn’t anything alien to anyone in the dorms, after hitting up some conversation, Tsuzuru couldn’t help but peek, his eyes automatically glancing down to Kazunari’s phone, curiosity getting the better of him as usual. But to his surprise, the picture Kazunari had taken of Tsuzuru was there, on Kazunari’s screen, zoomed in on his face.

After that incident, Tsuzuru had started picking up what had previously been nothing but inconspicuous clues. He started noticing the way there could be 20 people in the room yet Kazunari would always, without fail, naturally gravitate towards him. He’d also noticed the way Kazunari posted a picture too many with Tsuzuru on his Instablam, and of course, the way Kazunari would blush around him.

Sometime past 1am, Kazunari spoke up, “Ah! That’s right! Here, look!”  
He turned his laptop around, “I designed this ultra cute Kamekichi sticker, what do you think? Cute, right?”  
Tsuzuru stared at the Kamekichi sticker that had been neatly placed on the back of Kazunari’s laptop before smiling, “Yeah, it’s cute.”  
“Right!” Kazunari beamed, “I can print out another copy if you want, that way we can have matching Kamekichis!”  
Tsuzuru laughed, the idea not seeming half bad, “Like a couples item?”  
Kazunari nodded, “Exactly like a coupl-… Ahaha, uhm, I mean…”  
Again. The blushing.  
Tsuzuru cleared his throat, hoping Kazunari wouldn’t notice how his own cheeks had reddened after realising he’d said “couples item”.  
In an ideal world, Tsuzuru would be bold and brave and shoot his shot at this very moment, but he cherished his friendship with Kazunari a little too much to put it on the line.

Or so he told himself. Mostly he just wasn’t bold nor brave.  
So instead of talking anything out, in a silent agreement, both boys went back to their work, neither looking at the other. The only time they’d acknowledge each other was whenever their elbows accidentally bumped into one another, the limited space of Tsuzuru’s desk giving them little room to move around.

After an hour, Tsuzuru stretched his long legs, muttering quietly to no one in particular, “Thank goodness Masumi is sleeping over with Sakuya and Citron…”  
“Haha, yeah…” Kazunari agreed, and Tsuzuru chose not to point out how Kazunari had no clue why it was such a relief to him.

Masumi had no issues sleeping soundly through the night, even when Tsuzuru’s keyboard went click, clack whenever he typed.  
But of course, when Kazunari had suggested earlier that evening that he could stay up together with Tsuzuru, Masumi, who had walked into the room looking for Izumi, had swiftly declared, “I’ll be sleeping in Sakuya and Citron’s room.”  
And when Kazunari had pouted and said, “Aw, Massuu! I promise I’ll be quiet, though!”  
Masumi had only responded with a, “Shut up. You’re always noisy.”  
And it wasn’t until Tsuzuru had gone back to his room after that and found Masumi fetching his pillow and he’d insisted that “It’s okay, I can tell Kazunari not to come over tonight”, that Masumi had shook his head.  
“It’s fine. Besides… Maybe you can talk things out.” He’d said.  
“Oh.” Was all that had come out of Tsuzuru’s mouth, because of course. If there was someone, anyone, who knew how Tsuzuru felt about Kazunari, of course it was Masumi.  
“Don’t blush. That’s gross.”  
“I don’t wanna hear that coming from you of all people!” Tsuzuru had retorted.

_Can’t believe I was being that obvious about my feelings_ , Tsuzuru thought to himself as he bit his lip. His fingers hovered over his keyboard, begging him to write something.  
But with Masumi’s words weighing heavy on his mind now, he knew there was no way he was going to get anything done unless he took the bull by the horns.  
He inhaled deeply.  
“Hey, Kazunari…?” He didn’t dare look at Kazunari as he spoke, choosing instead to keep his eyes fixed on the bright screen of his laptop.  
“Hm?” He could feel Kazunari’s expectant eyes on him.  
“You… No. Nevermind.”  
“Aw, not fair, Tsuzuroon!” Kazunari laughed, “Come on, what is it?”  
“No, it’s nothing.” Tsuzuru mumbled, pulling his arm away as soon as he felt Kazunari tug the fabric of his clothes playfully.  
Damn it. He could sense Kazunari’s mouth faltering.  
“Let’s just… get back to work…”

They spent the next two hours in silence. Tsuzuru typed away as he polished the final scene of the next play, Kazunari immersed in his tablet, occasionally clicking frantically on his mouse fixing goodness-knows-what on his digital piece.  
Tsuzuru checked the time on his laptop. 4.02am. Then he glanced sheepishly to the side. Kazunari was deep in thought, working on his project.  
_Well… at least one of us is focused._  
Tsuzuru sighed, his cup of coffee had gone cold, and he was feeling groggier by the second.  
_I wish I could… tell him._  
Little by little, his vision went dark as he closed his eyes slowly.  
“…zuroon…”  
A whisper?  
“Hm…?”  
“Tsuzuroon,” And then a familiar hand shaking his arm gently, “wake up.”  
Tsuzuru opened his eyes, the bright screen in front of him nearly blinding, “Ah, did I fall asleep…?”  
Kazunari chuckled, “Not on my watch! I’ll go get you another delish cup of coffee!”  
Kazunari reached for Tsuzuru’s mug of now cold coffee, but Tsuzuru grabbed his arm. Not violently, but with determination.  
“Tsuzuroon…” Kazunari looked at him with furrowed brows, “Everything okay…?”  
“Ah, sorry, it’s just… Don’t go, anywhere…”  
“Ah, sure… But I was just gonna get you some coffee…?”  
“Yeah, but I… Wanna tell you something.”  
“You do?”  
“Yeah… I guess I do.”  
Kazunari’s eyes seemed to glimmer in the low light.  
“I…” Tsuzuru stopped himself immediately, the rapid beating of his own heart the only thing he could suddenly hear.

He inhaled shallowly before continuing, “Do you… do you like me…?”  
To the untrained eye, Kazunari barely noticeably pursing his lips could be invisible. However, Tsuzuru had observed Kazunari for so long and so intently that by now he considered himself somewhat of an expert in the art of understanding Kazunari’s body language.  
After taking a few seconds to regain his composure, Kazunari forced a strained and quiet laughter, “You’re totes tired, Tsuzuroon! I don’t know what you’re talking about!”  
“But you do.” Tsuzuru reached forward, grabbing Kazunari’s hand, “Don’t you…?”  
Kazunari nodded weakly, “Yeah…”  
Tsuzuru thought his heart would burst any minute, now, “Me too. I feel the same way…”  
“Tsuzuroon… You _like_ -like me?”  
He rubbed the back of his head, “Yeah, I _like_ -like you…”

Sometime after 5am, Tsuzuru and Kazunari both managed to meet their deadlines.

Kazunari first, doing a celebratory lap around the room and updating his Instablam story for the world to know.

And sometime after 6am, after reviewing each other’s final works, after talking and sharing stories and after a lot of muffled laughter as to not wake anyone up, Tsuzuru and Kazunari shared their first kiss, and their second, and their third, and their tenth.

**Author's Note:**

> *insert britney spears yeah gif except it's kazunari*  
> Comments are appreciated!


End file.
